The End of the Line
by criminalxxxmindsxxxfreak
Summary: His fists clenched and he held back a sob, a few tears managing to find their way down his cheek and he felt something in him scream for another chance, just one more day… A look inside the tenth Doctor's thoughts during The End of Time Part II. Oneshot.


**Title: **The End of the Line

**Rating: **K+

**Pairings: **Mild Ten/Rose; one-sided Ten/Martha; Ten/Donna friendship

**A/N: **So… this is sort of a little drabble-esque sort of thing I decided to write. It's not really a drabble because it's too long, but I was re-watching The End of Time Part II and couldn't stop this idea from forming so this is sort of a look into the Doctor's thoughts right before the end of The End of Time Part II.

Hope you enjoy! And please, please review! Any and all opinions are welcome!

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><p><strong>The End of the Line<strong>

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><p>He could feel it. The energy building up inside of him, threatening to burst free any moment now. He wasn't sure how much longer he could hold it off, but he knew that he had to. He stumbled and gasped as a wave of energy surged forth in his chest, pain flaring as his hearts sped up. It was such a beautiful day for a wedding… He smiled in spite of the pain, memories slowly surfacing and then ebbing away…<p>

_Laughter filled the TARDIS control room. His chest was tight and tears pricked his eyes and he and Donna collapsed next to each other, smiles on their faces._

_"That was fun, wasn't it?" he asked jokingly, glancing over at the feisty redhead and grinning that cheeky grin of his. She rolled her neck to face him and raised a brow, her lips pursing in that familiar, almost sarcastic way._

_"Fun?" she asked, "We almost died out there! And look at my shoes. Completely ruined. You'll have to buy me another pair," she lifted her feet up for a moment and kicked him lightly in the shin._

_He smiled and shook his head, staring up at the TARDIS's ceiling. "A new pair? You must've brought fifty with you; how many can you possibly need?"_

_She looked down at her shoes thoughtfully and shrugged, "As many as it takes. And anyway, these cost me half a week's pay, so you definitely owe me, Spaceman."_

His laugh was pained as the memory faded. Donna… his best friend. He realized he'd never see her again. It had been hard enough saying goodbye the first time, but a second time was torture. He didn't think he could ever forget that bright smile, those kind eyes. All of that personality bursting forth from inside of her. But she was happy and that was what counted.

He grunted as another wave of regeneration energy surged through him and he doubled over, clutching his stomach. No. He wasn't finished yet. He leaned forward and held on to the TARDIS controls for dear life, pulling the lever back as another wave of painful energy hit him and a new memory burned behind his eyes…

_"Are you alright?"_

_The concern in her voice reminded him so much of Rose that he had to remind himself it wasn't her. He turned away from Martha, his expression grim and somber. Quieter than he'd ever been before._

_He could feel her, hovering behind him, probably debating about whether or not she should say anything or just leave him to his thoughts. In the end, she settled for a warm hand, placed gently on his shoulder and he took a deep breath, reaching up and taking her hand in his own, turning to face her._

_Her dark eyes were worried and a little bit scared, "Doctor," she was hardly talking above a whisper now, "Are you going to be okay?"_

_He looked down at her hand and a faint smile ghosted across his lips… "I'm fine," he assured her, swallowing and looking up again to meet her eyes. Those warm, open, honest eyes._

_He could see so much in Martha's eyes. Faith, hope, concern, and worst of all love. He did everything he could to ignore that love in her eyes, that adoration he felt so undeserving of. After all the pain he'd suffered, all the loss, it was better this way. He knew that and one day, Martha would realize it. But until then, he at least had her and someone to hold his hand._

_She smiled at him and her fingers tightened around his, "Where to next?" her voice shook and he almost laughed at her unsubtle change of subject before shutting his eyes, collecting his emotions, stuffing them down as deep as he could and untangling their fingers._

_He hopped toward the center controls and began pressing buttons, looking back at her and forcing a wide grin, "Oh, I dunno, so many places and times to see, so much time to see it in. How about the Corphinx Nebula? Oh, you'd love it! The sky's purple at night, all those stars!"_

Tears were creeping in the corner of his vision as he leaned heavily against the controls and heard his TARDIS whispering to him, comforting him. He gently stroked one of the columns and smiled to himself.

Oh, Martha. Sweet, brilliant, wonderful Martha Jones. Such a thirst for adventure and zeal for life. He could've loved her if he'd allowed himself too, but then, he couldn't ever really allow himself to, could he? And he'd been right anyway. She had found someone to love, someone better for her than him. Someone who could love her back. And he was happy for her. Even if that someone was Mickey the Idiot.

"Gah!" He gasped and nearly fell to the floor as the most painful burst of energy burned right through him from his head to his toes. His head was pounding and screaming and he felt as if his insides were going to be ripped apart. He didn't have long now… But there was still one more place he had to go. One more face he had to see with these eyes before it was all gone forever…

_"Doctor!"_

_He could hear her screaming and he looked up, eyes wide as he saw her feet dangling, at least fifty feet in the air. Her arms were wrapped around a support beam, her blond hair spilling around her face as she looked down at him._

_"I can't hold on!" she called to him._

_His hearts were racing in his chest as he looked around for a flight of stairs, a lift, anything to get him to her before she fell. A fall from that height might not kill her but it would do a hell of a lot of damage if she hit the floor._

_"AH!" Rose screamed again and her weight shifted. She was going to slip, he realized there wasn't much other option and hurried to get underneath her._

_"Don't worry!" he called, putting on a sure face even though doubts were spinning through his mind. "I've got you!" And it was more than a promise. It was almost a vow. Rose Tyler. Nineteen years old and one of the bravest people he'd ever met…_

_"Doctor!" she kicked her legs and squeezed her eyes shut as her grip completely slipped and she fell, screaming._

_"I'll catch you! Don't worry!" he promised, holding his arms out and bracing himself as her weight slammed into them. His legs nearly buckled underneath him as he caught her and her arms wrapped tightly around his neck. She buried her face in his shirt and they stayed like that for a moment, both silent save for their heavy breathing._

_And then she looked up and met his eyes and that wide grin that he loved so much spread across her face and he grinned back and soon the pair of them were laughing like idiots, tears pricking their eyes as he sat her back on her feet and wrapped his arms around her tightly, just to make sure she really was there._

"ARGH!" He screamed and stumbled back into the TARDIS. This was it. The final moment. He could feel the energy, straining to break free, yearning to burst forth and save him, to keep him alive. He'd held it off as long as he could, he knew it wouldn't be much longer now and his eyes clinched tight, all of their faces rushing forth in his mind.

Rose Tyler, the teenage girl who had touched the stars and his heart. Who had somehow made a war-beaten, world-weary traveler feel alive again.

Martha Jones, the bright eyed, adventurous medical student who'd healed the aching blackness that had settled into his very soul, who had stood brave and tall in the face of his greatest enemies. Who had loved him, even though it had hurt.

Donna Noble. Wonderful, funny, brilliant Donna Noble. The bold, forthright woman who thought she was worthless when the truth was she was priceless. Who had faced evil with a sense of humor and wit that rivaled his own.

All of them, moving on, living their lives. He'd never see them again. Never speak to them again. He knew this was the end and that terrified him more than he'd ever admit. Every time he died, every time he was forced to say goodbye to a chapter in his long life, it was too soon. It hurt more than words could describe. He was about to lose it all.

The laughter, the friendship, the tears, the fear, the running… the love. All of it, gone forever. That door was closing and it could never be reopened again.

He screamed again and felt it now, burning hotter and hotter inside of him, every cell of his body changing and morphing. His fists clenched and he held back a sob, a few tears managing to find their way down his cheek and he felt something in him scream for another chance, just one more day…

"I don't want to go," he pleaded with no one as the energy finally got what it wanted and burst forth, his body going rigid as he changed. He could feel it. Himself dying away, his cells being rewritten, rearranged. Soon he would be a completely new man and that old life was long gone. And somehow he knew that things were never going to be the same again…

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><p><strong>Fin<strong>

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><p><strong>EN: **So… hope that was good. I had fun writing it. And I hope everyone was in-character as well. Please let me know guys! First time writing for Doctor Who, not sure how much justice I did them.

Hope you enjoyed it!


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